


Like Sister Like Brother

by Immortal_Dreams



Series: for the love of April [5]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has A Sibling (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer Has Anxiety (Julie and the Phantoms), Alex Mercer Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bobby is a good friend, Gen, Hospitals, I'm going to make this a tag, Post Mpreg, Pre-Canon, after the orpheum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Immortal_Dreams/pseuds/Immortal_Dreams
Summary: “How is she doing?” he asks instead, turning to look at Bobby.“She’s alive, for now,” Bobby says. “But the doctors said there’s a very high chance she won’t make it through the night. And that—” He takes a deep breath, and Alex can see unshed tears in his eyes. “—you should…prepare for that. I—I’m so sorry, Alex.”April is finally here, but she's way too early, so Alex is an emotional mess. And on top of it all, he needs to find someone willing to take him in until he's 18, and he needs to do it fast. Thank god for Bobby Wilson - Alex would have probably forgotten the fact that he has a sister.
Relationships: Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer
Series: for the love of April [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004718
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be only one chapter, but here we are... I'll try my best to get the rest out soon.

**OCTOBER 17, 2009.**

They give him full anaesthesia. Alex wants to protest, but they say they’re assuming (correctly) that he’s absolutely not in the shape to be awake during the c-section. He hates that they’re right. The panic is still threatening to overwhelm him by the time they administer the anaesthesia.

When he wakes up, everything is blurry and his mind feels like it’s made of clouds. It takes a few minutes until he can even form a proper thought and then a few more until he can move. The first thing Alex notices upon finally managing to open his eyes is that Bobby is at his bedside, once again holding his hand. He looks tired, dark circles forming under his eyes. He probably hasn’t slept. And from the tiny amount of light coming from the windows, Alex can guess it’s early morning by now. He smiles a little at his best friend’s commitment to staying by his side, but still.

“You should get some sleep,” Alex says, voice a little scratchy from the breathing tube. 

Bobby’s eyes widen the moment he hears it and he grips Alex’s hand tighter. “You’re awake,” he whispers, and Alex can almost see the weight falling off his shoulder. “Thank fuck. How are you feeling?”

Alex shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says. “Strange.”

Bobby nods, like he gets it. He probably doesn’t. Alex does feel strange. Like his body isn’t how his mind thinks it should be. He feels…empty. Slowly, he lifts the hand that’s not being held by Bobby and places it on his stomach. He’s being careful, but still, the contact makes him wince. The pain isn’t bad, more like a bad bruise than anything else. But underneath his hand, his stomach feels wrong. He’s gotten so used to the bump that it not being there is incredibly surrealistic. Alex has to bite back tears. It’s not the time to cry.

“How is she doing?” he asks instead, turning to look at Bobby.

“She’s alive, for now,” Bobby says. “But the doctors said there’s a very high chance she won’t make it through the night. And that—” He takes a deep breath, and Alex can see unshed tears in his eyes. “—you should…prepare for that. I—I’m so sorry, Alex.”

Alex has to close his eyes to stop himself from letting the tears out. He bites his lip and forces himself to take a few deep breaths, even if they’re all shaky. When he’s calmed down a little, pushed the panic back just enough to function, he opens his eyes and looks at the ceiling.

“Can I see her?”

“Uh…”

From the corner of his eye, Alex can see Bobby open his mouth, close it again and frown. Then, he lets go of Alex’s hand and gently lays it onto the bed.

“You know what?” he says, standing up. “I don’t actually know. But I’m gonna ask.”

Alex smiles at him, a true smile, even if there’s sadness behind it. “Thank you.”

Bobby smiles back and nods shortly before leaving the room in search for a nurse or doctor. Almost as soon as he’s out of the door, Alex throws back his blanket and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He winces a little when there immediately is a sharp pain from his stomach, but doesn’t let it stop him. He’s a man on a mission, after all.

By the time Bobby returns, followed by Dr. Frey, Alex is pulling on his socks, having already put on all his other clothes. He looks up and smiles sheepishly, but it’s very obvious that he’s not in the least bit feeling guilty. 

Dr. Frey’s smile drops off her face and she rushes over to Alex, pushing past Bobby without a single word. As soon as she reaches him, she pushes Alex back onto the bed and holds him there. When he starts struggling against her hold, she only tightens it.

“No,” she says, in a tone that leaves no argument. “You are not leaving this bed. You just got out of surgery, you shouldn’t even stand up to go to the toilet!”

“But—”

She cuts Alex off. “No arguments. Alex, listen to me. This was an emergency surgery, one we wouldn’t have even considered doing on you this shortly after a serious poisoning if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary.”

Alex blinks in surprise. He didn’t think of that. 

Dr. Frey sighs. “I understand you want to get up, but you need to understand that you need the time to heal. You flatlined twice during the surgery, Alex. One more and you wouldn’t have made it.”

“I—what?”

Alex stares at her, eyes wide. That’s— Oh, shit. For a moment, Alex forgets how to breathe. He didn’t know that. He thought the surgery had gone great. Obviously, it didn’t. Oh god. Alex holds one hand in front of his mouth. He could have died. He could have fucking died on that table. Shit. His lips tremble and he can’t tear his gaze away from Dr. Frey.

"I—I…almost died?"

He barely manages to force the words out.

Dr. Frey nods and the look on her face changes to one of sympathy. “I’m sorry I had to tell you right now. I was originally going to wait until you’d recovered a little.”

Alex feels numb again. He finally manages to close his eyes and lets his head fall back against the pillow. He hears Dr.Frey step away from the bed and a few seconds later, Bobby’s there and grabs his hand. Alex squeezes back. Thoughts are running through his mind at a million miles an hour and he’s trying (and failing) to process what he just learned.

From what feels like it’s awfully far away, he hears Bobby speak up. Alex can gather it’s directed at Dr. Frey.

“Is there any way he can see the baby?” he asks. “I mean, I get that he’s not supposed to leave the bed, but he deserves to see her, _just once_.”

The last part is whispered and Alex only barely hears it at all. But he does hear it. And it breaks his heart. There’s silence for a few moments and then Dr. Frey sighs.

“I’ll see if I can get him a wheelchair,” she says and then Alex can hear her leaving the room.

Bobby squeezes his hand and brushes some hair out of Alex’s face with his other hand.

“See?” he whispers, “You’ll get to see her soon.”

Alex can only nod, but a tear makes its way down his face. Yeah, he’ll get to see her. But it might be the only time he’ll ever get that chance and that’s about the worst thing that could have happened to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**OCTOBER 17, 2009.**

She’s so _small_.

Alex stands in front of the incubator holding his little angel and all he can think about is how small she is. There are so many tubes connected to her that he can barely see her face. He hates that she needs them, that without them, she couldn’t even _breathe_. Dr. Frey told him it’s because her lungs aren’t developed enough to work on their own. She also told him it’s a wonder April even made it these few hours, that most babies born this premature die within an hour or two. April’s made it five hours already. Initially, that gave him hope. But now, looking at her frail and weak form, Alex looses that hope. She’s too small, born too early. Way too early. Alex blames himself, even if he knows it’s not his fault. But the thoughts keep coming. What if he hadn’t eaten that hotdog? What if he’d just told the boys, maybe they would’ve rescheduled the gig at the Orpheum? What if… What if he’d been _stronger_? Strong enough not to go into labour twenty fucking weeks early? Would his daughter have a chance to live then?

He clenches his fists and bites his lip. There are, once again, tears rolling down his face. Alex is pretty sure he hasn’t cried this much in years.

He feels more than sees Bobby stepping up behind him and doesn’t resist when he gently pries his left hand open. The feeling of his fingernails almost cutting into his skin is replaced with Bobby’s hand in his. Bobby’s good like that. He’s the best at offering silent support, at knowing when a hug or even holding hands will help more than anything he could say. Alex squeezes his hand and whispers an almost silent “thanks”. In response, Bobby squeezes his hand back. 

Dr. Frey is standing opposite them on the other side of the incubator. She has this sad look on her face that makes Alex want to look anywhere but at her. He thinks she’s noticed, because he can see her shuffle around in his peripheral vision. But then, she stills.

“Alex?” she asks gently, almost as if she’s afraid any other tone would cause him to shatter into tiny pieces. (He thinks it might, at this point.)

He does finally look at her at that. He must look horrible with the tears and exhaustion, because her expression falls for a moment, before she can school it into a small smile.

“Do you want to touch her? Maybe…hold her hand for a while?”

Alex blinks a few times before he realises he didn’t imagine it. He didn’t think he was allowed to do that. But…yeah. Yeah, he definitely wants to do that. He can’t even nod fast enough. 

Dr. Frey’s smile turns a little more true. “Go on, then,” she says.

Alex’s hand shakes when he lifts it. With extreme care, he reaches into the incubator and takes his baby’s hand into his. It feels even smaller than it looks and if that alone doesn’t make Alex tear up even more, April grabbing onto his ring finger does the trick. That small action even manages to put a true smile on his face.

And suddenly, looking at his daughter doesn’t make Alex feel as sad as it did before. He could be completely misinterpreting this, but in his mind, her grabbing his finger means she’s not gone yet. It means she’s still fighting. And as long as April continues to fight, Alex will not let himself loose hope. He’ll have to be the one to believe in his little girl, because if he doesn’t, no one will. And if no one keeps hoping, the fight might as well be lost.

He tells Bobby as much when they’re alone in his hospital room a few hours later. His last remaining friend looks at him for a minute before a look of determination settles on his face.

“You’re not the only one believing in her,” Bobby tells him and Alex has never been more grateful to have him as a friend.

**OCTOBER 18, 2009.**

The next morning, Dr. Frey walks into the room with a smile on her face and tells him that, by some miracle, April has made it through another night.

“And the best thing is that she actually looks like she’s getting better,” she says.

Alex can’t help smiling and lets out a small laugh. For the first time since the Orpheum, he feels happy. Truly happy.

“Does that mean she’ll make it?” Bobby asks from where he’s sitting next to Alex’s bed.

After he continued refusing to leave the day before, a nurse got him a more comfortable chair and a few blankets so he could at least catch some sleep if he won’t go home. Alex tried to convince him to go but Bobby wouldn’t budge. If Alex is honest, he’s glad about that.

Dr. Frey sighs. “There’s still no guarantee, but the chances are a lot higher than they were initially.”

That’s…—okay. It might not be what Alex wants to hear but he refuses to let that drag his mood down. As far as he’s concerned, he’ll start planning his future with April as soon as Dr. Frey leaves.

“There’s…another thing we need to discuss, though,” she says, sounding like she’d rather do anything but.

Alex frowns at that. “Okay?”

Dr. Frey sighs again. “Alex, as much as I hate to point it out, you’re still seventeen.”

“Yes?”

He’s probably being dumb, but Alex can’t guess where she’s going with this.

“You’re seventeen,” she repeats. “Which means you legally can’t have custody of your daughter.”

Alex’s eyes widen and he and Bobby look at each other. “Shit,” they say at the same time.

“Exactly,” Dr. Frey says, nodding. “Now, had you carried to term, I would have just kept you here until your birthday and you would have gotten custody without a problem. But as of right now, you still have five months until you turn eighteen and we can’t go that long without someone taking temporary custody.”

“Shit,” Alex repeats.

Dr. Frey turns to Bobby. “You’re not by any chance of age already?” she asks.

Bobby can only shake his head. “No. Alex is the oldest of the group. I could ask my parents, but they’re barely ever in town so I’d doubt anyone would put a baby into their hands.”

“Anyone else?” Dr. Frey asks. “Alex, are you sure your parents wouldn’t take you both in?”

Alex snorts. “Absolutely,” he says. “I can guarantee you I’ll be disowned and kicked out of the house the moment they learn about April.”

They are silent for a minute, all of them thinking about other possibilities. Alex can’t think of anyone who’d be willing to help him. As much as he hates it, his whole family is incredibly homophobic. There’s no way any of his aunts or uncles would help. Every single person who actually cares about him is in this room right now.

It’s Bobby who breaks the silence. “Hey, what about Stephanie?” he asks, turning to look at Alex.

And Alex’s brain freezes. Stephanie. He forgot Stephanie. Of course. Of course he would forget the only person in his whole family who has ever loved him for who he is. How stupid is he? Really fucking stupid, that’s what.

Dr. Frey looks confused. “Who’s Stephanie?”

Oh. Right, of course she doesn’t know. Alex never talks about her after all.

“She’s my older sister,” he says. “Ran away from home the day she turned eighteen, almost three years ago now.”

He sighs. “I have absolutely no idea where she lives, though. Or even what her number is.”

Dr. Frey thinks for a second, then nods. “I think we can get around that. As long as she still lives in the greater Los Angeles area, we should be able to find her in a telephone book. Stephanie Mercer, right?”

Alex nods, almost in a daze. He didn’t think he’d ever get to see her again. He wonders if she’d like the person he is today. The last time she saw him, he was an anxious fourteen year old who still hadn’t admitted to himself that he was gay. Okay, he’s still anxious. That’s…something.

“I’ll see if I can reach her,” Dr. Frey says, moving towards the door. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”

It takes about two hours until she comes back. Alex spends that time fighting back a panic attack. At one point, Bobby tries to distract him by singing a few songs, but he makes the mistake to choose one of their own ones and has to talk Alex out of another panic attack for the next ten minutes. They sit in silence after that.

When Dr. Frey comes rushing back in, she looks exhausted. She plops down in the second chair next to Alex’s bed and wipes some sweat off her temple. When she notices Alex and Bobby’s confusion, she smiles.

“We had an emergency,” she explains. “I would have been here over an hour ago otherwise.”

Alex nods in understanding before the second thing she said fully registers in his brain.

“Did you find my sister?” he asks.

“I did.”

“Really?”

Dr. Frey laughs. “Yes, really,” she says. “She seemed really worried when I told her you were in the hospital, didn’t even let me explain everything. As soon as I told her which hospital you were in, she said she’d come right now and hung up.”

Alex blinks. “She did?”

Before anyone can say anything else, a frantic voice drifts over to them.

“Alex?” someone calls and Alex forgets to breathe for a moment.

A few seconds later, Stephanie Mercer stands in the doorway. The panic leaves her face as soon as her eyes land on Alex, replaced with a smile.

“Alex,” she says again.

Alex has to pinch himself to make sure this is real. “Steph.”

That breaks whatever resolve she had and Steph rushes forward, falling into the chair Dr. Frey quickly vacates and taking Alex’s hand into hers. They stare at each other for a while and then both of them start crying. Steph pulls Alex into a hug and he’s suddenly very glad she’s never been a tight hugger because his still healing wound would most likely protest that. When they pull apart, Steph looks Alex up and down.

“I can’t believe you’ve grown this much,” she says.

Alex laughs, hard, but winces when his wound hurts because of it.

Steph frowns. “Alex,” she says, back on worried sister mode, “what happened to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy I could finally introduce Steph :)
> 
> Find me on tumblr, where I'm also taking fic requests: @ the-immortal-dream

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @ the-immortal-dream (where I'm also taking short fic requests)


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